


On The Fifth Day of Christmas, The Winter Soldier Stole For Me.....

by CarafeOfColdBrew



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes needs to woo the Hawkeye, Deaf Clint Barton, Fluff, Holiday Fic Exchange, M/M, Minor Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, The Twelve Days of Christmas Bed-Stuy style, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Winterhawk Wonderland Gift Exchange, but very briefly, minor theft but for a good cause, we stan a found family, why are there so many types of fowl?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28228200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarafeOfColdBrew/pseuds/CarafeOfColdBrew
Summary: “Are these pears? Why the hell is there a pear tree in my apartment?” he asked Lucky who was now sitting patiently, staring up at the bird with his tongue hanging out and tail wagging. “What is happening?”Clint Barton knew he was a disaster, it never really shocked him anymore when he ended up in strange situations.These twelve days leading up to Christmas, though? Those days he would have never seen coming.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 16
Kudos: 76
Collections: Winterhawk Wonderland - 2020 edition!





	On The Fifth Day of Christmas, The Winter Soldier Stole For Me.....

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aelfay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelfay/gifts).



> This one is for Aelfay, who gave me this amazing prompt: _"Clint keeps waking up to animals and weird shit in his apartment. Carnies don't really do Christmas carols, let alone the 12 Days of Christmas. The Asset doesn't know how to woo the really hot assassin he's noticed, but luckily there's a song detailing the protocol"._ and I HAD TO WRITE IT. The last few days got me tangled up, I couldn't figure out how to get all of these days into an apartment so I hope my ideas do it justice! I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful holiday season! 
> 
> Thank you to my pinch hit beta, merelypassingtime for letting me bounce some ideas around so I could make sure this wasn't TOO crazy.
> 
> And thank you to the lovely mods for this event! This was my first ever event I have participated in and it was a lovely way to get my toes in the water. Also, what a wonderful way to wrap up you know........2020. Oof. I also say this a lot, but the Winterhawk Community is the best community and I love it here. Everyone is so amazing and talented and wonderful, I hope everyone enjoys my contribution to the ever growing shrine of the Two Idiot Boys. 
> 
> This is also my biggest fic yet, so maybe another event in my future? Who knows!

_December 14th_

Clint shoved his face further into this pillow, hoping that by making his surroundings even darker his brain would think it was still bedtime.

He laid there for a few minutes until he was nearly suffocating himself instead of falling back asleep, groaning as his sore muscles flexed with the effort of rolling out to his back. He star-fished under the blankets, frowning as he didn't feel the usual fluffy body of his dog next to him.

“Lucky?” he called out, hoping he said it loud enough. He slowly sat up, wincing as the cut on his side pulled with it. He let out a jaw cracking yawn, reaching over blindly for his hearing aids sitting on his side table. He slowly put them in, flipping them on and finally caught up to the sounds happening in his apartment.

Nails were scratching across the floor in little bursts with gentle little _boofs_ coming out of his dog. He assumed that meant someone was there, Natasha usually just walked in and Lucky was always excited to see her. Figuring that's what it was, he took his time shuffling to the bathroom to brush his teeth and run his hand through his messy hair; he was just awake enough last night to shower off his mission before falling into bed and this is what usually happened when he slept with wet hair.

“Nat! I don't smell coffee,” he called out in a whine, angry at his friend for not putting the pot of coffee on when she knew how rough the last mission was.

He walked into the kitchen and paused when he didn't see the red-headed assassin. He looked over into the living room where Lucky was still dancing around excitedly.

“Lucky, what are you-” he called out, pausing mid-sentence when he saw a _bird_ perched on the top of a bookshelf he barely touched in the corner of the apartment. “What the fuck? How did that get in here?”

Clint stood still, his brain still offline enough to not really understand what was happening. He glanced around to find the nearest blanket or shirt to try and put on top of the bird, when he noticed something _else_ in his apartment that he didn't remember seeing last night.

A very sad looking plant of some kind, possibly a tree, in a bright purple pot in the last empty space available on his floor.

Clint blinked at it, looked over at the bird still perched on the top of his bookshelf and let out a huge sigh. He turned on his heels and walked straight to the coffee pot and pressed the button. Once he could confirm the life giving liquid was percolating, he walked over to the plant and reached out to the fruit that was trying so hard to grow.

“Are these pears? Why the hell is there a pear tree in my apartment?” he asked Lucky who was now sitting patiently, staring up at the bird with his tongue hanging out and tail wagging. “What is happening?” he asked himself, quickly sending a picture of the bird to Natasha to see if she did this or knew what kind of bird that was. It didn't look like any bird he had seen in the area.

He did a full sweep of his apartment, thinking that whoever did it must have gone through his window, if anywhere, but he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He walked back over to the pot with a shake of his head; only him.

He took a sip of the scalding hot liquid and looked down when Natasha responded.

_I was not involved with how that bird got into your apartment. This one is on you Hawkeye._

He stuck his tongue out at his phone like a child and chugged the rest of his coffee, resigning his day to be full of trying to wrangle a strange bird out of his building. 

_December 15th_

The Asset watched from the building kitty corner from Hawkeye and waited until he left with his dog for their usual morning walk. Hawkeye didn’t have much of a routine being an assassin with massive downtime between missions, but he never failed to take his pet out for a walk sometime before noon. The Asset was waiting for that moment, his metal hand possessively laid on the cage next to him. The two birds were currently calm, enjoying each other’s presence none the wiser to where they were going next. 

He held his breath as the light flipped on in the bedroom window, the silhouette of the Avenger appearing through the curtain as he rose from bed and stretched. The Asset felt his breath catch in his chest but didn’t understand _why_. He was enamoured with this assassin, his archaic weaponry and his general sense of disregard for his life. 

For a moment, an image flashed through his mind of a tiny blonde with fists up and fury in his blue eyes. 

The Asset shook his head and focused back on the window to watch the shadow move out of the room and he counted the few moments it would take before his shadow would be joined by a four legged one, him kneeling down to scratch the dog behind his ears and clipping on the lead. 

He looked down at the cage next to him. The Partridge in a Pear tree was a little hard to coordinate this time of year, but the two turtle doves were easy enough to order with a fake name and stolen credit card. Now he just had to wait for Hawkeye to leave and he could leave this next gift in his attempts to ‘woo’ the archer. 

He watched as Hawkeye walked out of the building and paused making the Asset quickly duck below out of sight before the archers eyes swung around to figure out who was watching him. He was good, he knew someone was around but the Asset was going to do his best to stay anonymous for as long as it took.

Yes, he wanted to woo the archer but would the archer want to be wooed by the Winter Soldier? What better time to try than Christmas?

He gave it another two minutes before peeking over the top of the building and down to the street to see the built man walk farther out of sight. The Asset made his way down through the building and quickly across the street, knowing that people on the street would ignore the man with a ball cap over his eyes and a covered cage in his hands; he had seen much weirder things in his stake outs leading up to the holidays.

He climbed the stairs on the outside of the building and carefully pried open the window, gently dropping down the cage before silently climbing in himself. He looked around the apartment for as long as he could dare; he didn’t need to get caught while trying to gather more intel on his target.

His eyes stopped on a framed picture that he didn’t see when he left his gift yesterday. He slowly stepped forward, looking at the picture of the six Avengers looking exhausted but happy, covered in dirt and hanging on each other.

His eyes roved over the unimportant people and zoned in on Hawkeye who was holding up two fingers behind the other blonde on the team, Captain America. The man’s blue eyes were so familiar that it made the Asset take a step back in shock.

He quickly made his way back out of the apartment and blended into the crowd, making his way towards the safehouse he gave himself a few blocks away. He subtly pulled out the piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it and looking down at his list for number three: _Three French Hens_

He didn’t know why true loves gave so many birds for the holidays, but who was he to argue?

_December 16th_

It was day three of random birds appearing in his apartment and Clint was stumped. Was someone playing a very odd prank on him? Who would go out of their way to find three chickens, three _very fancy_ looking chickens at that? Lucky was on the couch watching them warily as they walked around, pecking at the feed that was dropped on the ground and Clint watched it all from his perch on the kitchen counter.

He took a sip of his coffee and dialed Natasha’s number. She picked up before the second ring.

“Yes?”

“There are _more birds_ in my living room,” Clint stated simply, watching as the chickens continue to eat without any care in the world.

“What are they this time?” Natasha asked and Clint sighed.

“Three very fancy chickens. Do I have a weird stalker with a bird fetish?” he asked. “Why do I always get the unique ones?” 

“Cause you’re very special, Clint,” Natasha said before pausing and Clint knew she was obviously thinking.

“Should I be worried?” he asked and Natasha sighed on the other end.

“No, but you should probably be ready to find four birds tomorrow,” she said and Clint raised an eyebrow.

“Four birds? What do you mean? Have you been doing this? Do you know who has been doing this?” Clint asked and Natasha scoffed.

“No I am not doing this nor do I know who, but I think I know where they got their inspiration. It is almost Christmas, Clint.” 

Clint stayed quiet and waited for further explanation. 

It never came.

“What do all of these birds have to do with Christmas, Tash?” he asked and it was Natasha’s turn for very pointed silence. Clint could feel her disappointment. 

“It really says something when an ex-Red Room assassin knows more about Christmas than a former Carnie.” 

“That…..what? That didn’t answer my question!”

“Just let me know if there are four birds in your apartment tomorrow, okay? Take those chickens to a farm, it would be nice to have fresh eggs but they don’t belong in Bed-Stuy.”

She hung up the phone and Clint stared down at this black screen for a moment until one of the chickens let out a loud *buck buck buck*, making him look up to see the chickens had finally taken notice of his dog and Lucky looked ready to bolt.

“Okay Lucky hold on, let me just google a rescue that will take three very fancy chickens.”

_December 17th_

_“Natasha I’m getting called out for a very last minute mission, I need you to please come take care of these birds. I don’t know how you knew there were going to be four, but they cannot stay here and I don’t have time to wrangle them and bring them somewhere!”_

The Asset was crouched outside of the window, listening to Hawkeye as he rushed around the room throwing things into a bag. 

_“Clint, I am not dealing with disgusting birds. I’ll have Sam or Steve or both take care of it while you’re gone no worries._ ”

Clint. His name was Clint. 

_“Thanks Tash! I appreciate it.”_

The Asset watched as _Clint_ ran around to hastily pack a go bag, making sure to lock everything up but kept a light on the living room where the four birds were perched on various pieces of his furniture. They were black birds, not quite crows, but he had a hard time finding “Calling Birds”. After doing some research, he found they might have been _colly birds_ which were definitely easier to find but the last minute running around almost had him caught during delivery with the unexpected call for a mission for Hawkeye.

He watched as Clint ran out of the building and towards a black car that showed up just in time for him to hop into it, the car barely rolling to a stop. He stayed near the building after the car peeled away, trying to figure out where he could go to hack into SHIELD to find out where Clint was going for his mission. He didn’t need a random mission to screw with his plans.

Then another car parked in front of the building, making him tense up. He did not recognize the car, Clint didn’t have many visitors at his apartment so he immediately focused on the people clearly getting ready to go into Clint’s building. 

“Why are there birds in Clint’s apartment? And why do we have to take care of it? This was not in the job description to be an Avenger,” the dark skinned one asked, leaning against the parked car and looking at the building. 

“I have no idea, Nat wouldn’t explain what she obviously knows per usual. We are taking care of it because Nat volunteered us,,” the tall blonde with the obscene shoulder to waist ratio said, looking over at the other man.

“How the hell are we supposed to wrangle up birds? I know my call is Falcon, but dude, I am not actually one with the birds,” he argued and the blonde just grinned.

“We aren’t doing anything. I had Tony call professionals to come do it so we just wait here until they show up and we just let them in.”

“Stevie! My man! And they say Tony is the genius in the relationship.” 

_Stevie?_ Something about that made a few memories wriggle somewhere in his mind. 

“Yeah he had JARVIS find someone while he was hacking into some kind of database to try and find something about Bucky, I’ll need to get him out of that lab when we get back. There hasn’t been anything since DC.”

The Asset stopped listening then, _Stevie, Bucky and DC_. 

Memories of the last fight he was in started flashing behind his eyes.

_Fighting Captain America, his mission._

_Bucky?_

_Who the hell is Bucky?_

He let out a shaky breath and made his way across the roof, needing to get somewhere with a computer to find out where Clint was going.

_A carrier crashing into a building, his metal fist going into Captain America’s face and just KNOWING he knew him from somewhere._

_Till the end of the line._

_December 18th_

For being rushed out of New York like the world was on fire, _again_ , the mission was actually pretty simple as far as Clint was concerned. Find the target, interrogate the target and then wrap him up nice and pretty for the other agents to find him and he leaves without even breaking a sweat.

He walked back into the safe house set up for him and started stripping off his gear before making his way into a hot shower. He already had a flight out of there set up and he was excited he didn’t even have to sleep more than one night in a strange bed.

It was the little things in life. 

As he walked towards the bathroom, just his underwear still on, he noticed something odd on top of the dresser. The glint from the sun caught his eye and he walked over, raising an eyebrow at the perfectly placed rings on top.

There were five gold bands placed on his dresser.

“What the fuck?” he asked out loud, looking around again, his hackles raised. Who the hell knew where this safe house was? Was this the same person who was leaving birds in his apartment? Did he _follow him to Europe?_

He didn’t see anything else out of place and Clint knew this person had to be good, real good. Clint could be an idiot, but he was a hell of an agent and they didn’t call him Hawkeye for nothing. The gifts were weird, yes, but there could be weirder gifts of the DNA variety that he was grateful he wasn’t getting. 

He blew out another sigh and scratched behind his ear. He stared at the rings for a few moments, hoping that if he stared long enough it would reveal who was leaving these gifts. 

When that didn’t happen, he turned on his heel and got into the shower, making it quick and scalding hot. He quickly packed his small bag and weapons, checking his phone for the ETA of his car. 

As he started to walk out of the room, he hesitated. He fully planned on leaving the rings while he was in the shower but someone clearly went through the effort of giving them to him……...what could it hurt?

He put on gloves and swept them into a little compartment in his bag, not knowing if they were coated in anything that could harm him but he just couldn’t leave them. They were clearly gifts, as odd as they were, it would be rude to leave them, right?

Right?

He made his way out as the black car pulled up and climbed in the back seat, noticing the driver had the radio on a local station, delivering the news. His ears could barely pick it up with how low it was but he was definitely paying attention.

_There was a weird string of burglaries in the local area last night. Five men called into the police station this morning reporting that their wedding rings had been discovered missing this morning. Obviously they were not taken off of their fingers, but from their side tables or dressers where they leave them before going to bed. Police are looking…._

Clint just stared out of the window wide eyed for a moment, acutely aware of five wedding rings in his go bag. He slowly started to smirk then quickly bit it back; _no Clint this isn’t funny, these are someone’s WEDDING RINGS._

He grinned and barely held back a snort; who ever was sending him these weird gifts was really going the distance to give him these oddly specific things and he was finding himself hopelessly charmed. 

He would have been more impressed if the rings were slipped right off of their fingers, though.

_December 19th_

He didn’t tell anyone about the rings during his mission, they were harmless and he didn’t need the rest of his team to get upset over nothing. Well, it wasn’t _nothing_ but he was well and truly invested in what was happening here and he didn’t want to scare the person off while he tried to figure this all out. 

There was definitely a pattern, it started with one and as he stood in his living room on the sixth day of these surprises, there were six Geese in his living room. He knew he would get seven of something tomorrow, but where did it end? What number were they going up to?

“One partridge and one pear tree, two doves, three chickens, four crows and five golden rings. Now six Geese? What the hell….” he pondered out loud, starting to call the poor guy who had been making too many trips to Bed-Stuy to get random birds out of the same apartment.

“Five golden rings,” Clint murmured, a memory starting to come to the surface as he kept repeating everything he had received so far. 

_“Mr. Barton, it really is not a pleasure to hear from you again_ ,” the bird man answered and Clint frowned, well that was rude.

“Nice to hear from you too Bob! I don’t know what to tell you, being an Avenger is weird.”

“ _What is it this time?”_

“Geese. Some seem to have laid eggs.”

“ _Alright let me get a team together, please leave them alone if they have eggs. They’re likely to get territorial and mean.”_

“Don’t have to tell me twice. I’ll be perched on the counter with some coffee, and the door will be open. I should get you a key, Bob.”

“ _Please don't.”_

_December 20th_

The Asset- _Bucky he was pretty sure_ \- took a risk with the seventh day of Christmas. He could tell Clint was starting to enjoy himself, but he couldn’t tell if he actually enjoyed the gifts or if he enjoyed watching the Bird Guy come in and look so confused and dejected every time he came in to remove birds.

So he took a risk; he still went into Clint’s apartment but instead of leaving the gift he took the chance and left a _note_.

_Prospect Park, 1pm at the East Pond. Your gift will be there._

Straight to the point, but would Hawkeye show up?

He glanced at his watch and saw it was 12:55. It was getting close and he was perched up in a tree near the pond, waiting to see if Clint would show up. He had a picnic waiting for him and he made sure that swans were still swimming up and down, they of course were the whole point of today. He figured that just putting them in a pond was easier than bringing a pond to Hawkeye’s small apartment and hoped his crush would show up. 

He heard the leaves crunching under some feet and looked over to see Hawkeye walking towards the pond, his dog on his leash. He stilled as Clint’s eyes scanned the park, obviously trying to spot him and he hoped he blended in well enough. 

If Clint saw him, he didn’t show it but his eyes then landed on the picnic basket and a small smile appeared on his face. He walked closer to it and saw the small lunch the Asset left him, his dog immediately sniffing everything around the blanket. Clint looked up at the pond and his smile got bigger. The seven swans were peacefully swimming by and the park was relatively quiet on this side so he hoped it would be more comfortable with his hearing aids. 

Bucky- _God that was weird_ \- couldn’t help but smile himself when Clint relaxed and immediately sat down on the blanket, digging through the food and letting the dog off of his leash so he could go sniff around the edge of the pond, tail wagging as he watched the birds swim by. 

Bucky should really be concerned that Clint just started eating food left behind by someone he didn’t know but that was a conversation for when this mission was over. He did start to relax more as Clint did, completely content to watch the beautiful archer spend a day staying safe and throwing a ball for his dog. 

After an hour the two of them got ready to leave and Bucky swore he heard a _Thank you, whoever you are_ from Clint. He had to fight against every instinct to jump down and give him a hug. 

_December 21st_

“This is the Twelve Days of Christmas, there is literally NO OTHER reason that you got a note with coordinates to a DAIRY FARM!” Tony said throwing his hands in the air and Clint blinked, pausing before he took a sip of his hot chocolate.

“Oh yeah! Eight maids a-milking!” Steve said with a grin.

“Huh, how about that,” Clint said with a shrug, not really knowing the whole song but now knew why Five Golden Rings was bothering him so much.

“Only you would be getting wooed by a random stranger using the weirdest Christmas song,” Natasha said shaking her head, her red hair mostly covered by the beanie she was wearing.

He couldn’t hide the note that was left for him after his wonderful afternoon at the park, since he wasn’t the first to see it. Natasha showed up to get him to go with her to the tower to spar since it had been a while so she saw the random note with the coordinates and refused to let him go alone.

He didn’t want to argue. He _knew_ it was weird but he was hoping to at least get a glimpse of the guy, he was so close! He knew if the Avengers went with him, he’d never see him. So he sighed and agreed, getting into a car with Tony, Steve and Natasha to drive to what they now know is this dairy farm where they were watching cows getting milked.

It was weird, but Tony made it make sense.

He took another gulp of the hot chocolate that was made there with the fresh milk and he watched as his team mates wandered around the shop where cheese and other freshly made dairy products were available for purchase. They were all also looking around for suspicious people just like Clint was, trying to see if anyone was watching Clint or following him around. 

He really hoped it wasn’t anyone super weird; sure it was a little unconventional to try and woo someone the way he was being wooed, but it was still nice. 

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and slowly took it out, raising an eyebrow at the unknown number on his screen. He answered it and put it up to his ear, sneaking out of the building and knowing he failed because his best friend was the Black Widow.

“ _You didn’t come alone._ ”

Clint stopped right outside of the open barn door and glanced around to try and find this mysterious man.

Well, the mysterious person with the gravelly voice. 

“Yeah, I had a late start so the Black Widow found your mysterious note before I could and I wasn’t allowed to go alone in case it was a trap to murder or kidnap me or both,” he answered, taking another sip of his hot chocolate and turning slightly to try and get a better look around the farm. 

“ _It seemed the most efficient way to get you here. I couldn’t get eight cows to your apartment.”_

Clint just barely suppressed a laugh; it should have been a joke but he said it so seriously that Clint just nodded sagely, knowing he was being watched. His eyes scanned around again and _there_.

“I do appreciate that, that would have been a really weird phone call I’d have to make,” he said and watched as the man on the phone noticed he had been seen. He froze against the tree, his face mostly covered by the lowered baseball cap but he could see shoulder length brown hair resting on the collar of a jacket covering a red henley. Then black jeans, practical boots and at least four weapons on him, minimum. 

“ _Tomorrow, can you show up alone?_ ” 

“Depends, where am I going? Do I get to know your name? Will you be kidnapping me and or murdering me?” he asked, blinking in confusion when he saw the sunlight reflect off of something that was showing between his glove and sleeve. 

He hesitated a moment and Clint just waited, watching as the mystery person looked around constantly checking his exits and Clint knew he at least was trained like he was; a spy, agent, assassin?

He was getting murdered or kidnapped.

“ _It’s a surprise. And I’ll give you a name tomorrow.”_

He sounded hesitant, unsure and Clint just nodded.

He was such an idiot.

“Okay. Tomorrow.”

_December 22nd_

Clint was a circus brat, an assassin and agent of SHIELD. He was an Avenger to top that off so he had been to fancy places, that didn’t mean he _liked it_. 

He looked at himself in the mirror, his dress pants looking mostly clean and his deep purple dress shirt only having some wrinkles and decided that was good enough. 

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting for that day’s gift but tickets to The Rockette’s were probably last on that list. He stared at the lone ticket that was left on his counter, the name _Bucky_ scrawled on a piece of scrap paper. It was a little shaky, like they were scared and Clint felt a little pang of sympathy for Bucky.

“Bucky,” he said out loud, testing out the weird name and putting the ticket in his pocket.

He contemplated not going for five minutes based purely on the fact that he had to dress up but he figured if he went alone this time, he might be able to get closer to Bucky. He was stupidly a little enamored by him and all of the things he had done for Clint leading up to Christmas. 

So there he was, dressed up and ready to go watch The Rockettes. Hoping Bucky had the ticket next to his and he would be going on………..a date?

“Am I going on a date with someone who has essentially been stalking me and I don’t even know what he looks like?” he asked his reflection. He scrunched his nose in distaste, adjusted his hearing aids and sighed. “Disaster.” 

When he got out of the cab in front of the theatre, he pulled his jacket a little closer to himself to brace against the cold winter air and glanced around trying to find Bucky. All he had was shoulder length brown hair and a jawline to die for; but nothing else would really make him stand out from anyone in line waiting to get in.

When he finally made it up to the window, he gave her the lone ticket and stood there awkwardly while the woman clearly was trying to think of a reason why a man like Clint was going to see the Rockettes by himself.

“I’m meeting someone,” he said slightly defensively and the woman just raised an eyebrow and handed him his ticket. He rolled his eyes and marched into the theatre, relaxing as the warmth enveloped him. He stood there while people moved around him and he grabbed his phone, biting his lip hoping it would ring, that Bucky was there and saw him. 

He gave up when the lights started to blink letting him know the show was starting soon and headed to his seat, losing hope with every step.

Bucky watched Clint disappear into the crowd, his nerves rooting him to the spot. Clint looked so nice in his purple shirt and Bucky wanted to walk over there and take his hand and watch a show with him. He almost did, then he looked down at his metal arm and frowned. 

He couldn’t do it; not yet. He needed a little more time to push the Winter Soldier away. 

_I’m so sorry. I really wanted to, but I can’t. Can I get a re-do tomorrow?_

He shot off the text and walked back out of the building hiding his face under the collar of his jacket and hating himself more with every step.

_Sure we can, Bucky. What are we doing for number 10?_

Bucky just shook his head and sighed.

_You haven’t looked it up yet?_

_No, I like the surprises._

_So why are you asking if you want it to be a surprise?_

_I want to keep talking to you._

Huh, well. That he could do.

_December 23rd_

Bucky knew that this was kind of ridiculous _now_ , trying to woo someone with the Twelve Days of Christmas, but it was the only song he could remember at the time and he had made it this far. Clint kept showing up despite the ridiculous requests so he was going to finish the mission of Wooing the Hawkeye. He took a deep breath and released it, forcing himself to take the steps into the theatre to look for Clint. He waited until the last possible second to walk in, trying to interact with the least amount of people possible and walking to his seat when it was darker. 

He spotted Clint’s messy blonde hair and he could tell he was trying really hard not to swivel around to look for him. Bucky braced himself and walked over to sit down unceremoniously; it was like ripping off a band aid. 

He smirked when he noticed Clint jumped in surprise. It was always nice to get one up on a fellow assassin. 

“Oh. You actually-Hi,” Clint stuttered out and Bucky looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, I actually,” he said, making sure to turn to him so Clint could hear what he was saying. He got caught up in his blue eyes and returned the shy smile, then the place went completely dark. 

“Thanks for coming this time,” Clint whispered close to his ear, making him jump and Bucky could feel the smirk on his face for returning the favor.

Clint really appreciated the gesture, he really did. These probably were expensive tickets to a show like this during the holidays but he was a former carnie and current Avenger. Sitting still was not his favorite activity in the world. He tried to pay attention to the show, the dancers _were_ amazing but with the lights mostly back up he kept looking over at Bucky. His hair was back in a neat bun, his jawline was even more incredible up close and he blushed every time he realized Clint was staring. 

Clint just wanted to ask him so many questions; who was he? Why Clint? Why the Twelve Days of Christmas? That wasn’t happening at a show where you needed to be quiet for most of it.

When the lights went completely on for intermission, Clint turned towards him and waited until some of the people cleared out around them before speaking.

“It’s nice to actually see your face,” he offered first and Bucky nodded.

“Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve let so many people see it. It’s probably not safe to be honest,” Bucky replied and Clint wasn’t sure what to do with that.

“Are you hiding from someone?” he asked and Bucky hesitated, biting his lip. Clint let him stew on that and leaned back in the chair to wait. 

“Not anymore,” he said quietly, Clint just catching it as he watched his lips. 

“Okay. I have a lot of questions,” Clint said simply and Bucky huffed out a laugh with a wry smile.

“I don’t know if I’ll have all the answers.”

“Well we won’t find out here. I really appreciate the gift, but do you want to go somewhere else and talk? I know a great pizza place. It’s a hole in the wall, grease on all of the surfaces,” Clint offered, feeling slightly nervous. He watched as Bucky eyes him warily, obviously at war with some feelings. 

“Okay I will go but you should know something first, you need to know before we talk,” Bucky said looking nervous and Clint just waited quietly as Buckly slowly pulled his gloves off. Clint looked down and his heart dropped in his stomach, every instinct he had telling him to grab a weapon.

“Holy shit, no fucking way,” Clint hissed as he stood up from his seat in shock. He didn’t miss the hurt look that quickly passed across Bucky’s face.

“Yeah.”

“How is the _Winter Soldier_ wooing me with the 12 days of Christmas?!” Clint whispered not really believing that this was his life.

“You looked amazing shooting a bow and it’s the only song I could remember at the time of making wooing you my mission?” Bucky offered and Clint was rendered speechless. Well he asked, didn't he? He just continued to stare, not really sure what he should say in a situation like this. 

Thankfully Bucky saved him.

“Pizza and story time?” 

“Yeah, uh, yeah sure.”

_December 24th_

Clint wasn’t even sure what time he really got home from his late night pizza date with his secret admirer Bucky who also happened to be the Winter Soldier. There was still a lot he was processing from what Bucky had told him that evening but in the end, against every instinct and the very Natasha sounding voice in his head, he had a great time. As a bonus, Bucky was _unfairly_ good looking and he was okay with being the sole focus of these wooing attempts. 

When he climbed out of bed and shuffled his way through his apartment, he was keeping his eyes and ears peeled for what the 11th day would bring; something to do with pipers and it was probably going to be horrifying.

_“So are you going to have Eleven Pipers show up outside of my window like in Say Anything and have them play In Your Eyes?” Clint joked as he grabbed the first slice of their second pizza of the night._

_Bucky looked at him, clearly very confused and Clint had to remind himself that Bucky had zero knowledge of any pop culture in the past couple of decades._

_“It’s a scene at the end of the movie where the guy tries to get the girl and he stands outside of her bedroom with an old school boombox playing that song as a grand romantic gesture,” Clint explained._

_“Oh, well I didn’t really know what I was going to do for pipers piping but that doesn’t sound too bad.”_

Clint grinned at his coffee machine as he remembered the evil glint in Bucky’s eyes and Clint trying to backtrack, but he knew Bucky’s still mission-oriented mind wasn’t going to back down so close to the end of his list. So, he just hoped no one randomly showed up on Christmas Eve and he could enjoy the cheesy gesture from the comfort of his snow covered fire escape. 

He got changed and filled a thermos with coffee, grinning when he saw a text from Bucky that asked if he could be so kind as to head out to the fire escape for the show? Clint didn’t respond, he just quickly climbed out of the window and onto the balcony, laughing out loud at the 11 bagpipers dressed to the nines and Bucky standing near them with a grin and his hair up in a messy bun. 

“I think this will be the first time this song will be played by bagpipes and I am honored to be here for this historic moment,” Clint yelled down to him and Bucky chuckled.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Bucky turned to the group and on the count of three, they began the first few notes of the song and Clint had to hide the snort into his elbow. 

Oh yeah, it was just as horrible as he imagined.

He could tell the pipers were also trying not to cringe the entire time but when it came to the chorus, Clint couldn’t help himself. 

“In your eyes, the light, the heat,” he started then pointed to Bucky.

“In your eyes,” he begrudgingly sang, rolling his eyes.

“I am complete!” he sang into his thermos turned microphone, Bucky echoing the necessary _In your eyes_ accompaniment after him. “I see the doorway to a thousand churches! The resolution of all the fruitless searches.”

Bucky was now also laughing but looking entirely too fond and Clint continued to put on the Lip Sync Show of a lifetime to keep that look on Bucky’s face.

_December 25th_

Christmas wasn’t Clint’s favorite holiday as a kid, even as an adult while on the run or on missions, but being an Avenger had changed that over the past few years since the attack on New York. He had a family, a slightly emotionally unstable one, but still a family that wanted him around for presents and hot cocoa and a Christmas movie by the fire after a huge dinner Tony had catered for them. It was something to look forward to, even more so now with no idea what Day Twelve would bring from Bucky. 

He walked out of the elevator at the penthouse suite and grinned at the massive tree in front of the wall of windows. The fire was crackling away and the themed stockings for each Avenger stuffed full of what he was sure was inappropriate things from Tony hanging on the wall. He slipped off his jacket so that his ugly sweater from last year was on full display; his favorite tradition of all of them.

“Merry Christmas Bird Brain!” Tony called from the kitchen, also dressed in his ugly sweater and Steve gave him a wave while pouring everybody some Eggnog. 

“Merry Christmas, Stark! Hurry with that Eggnog I want to see what kind of arrows you made me for Christmas,” he said walking towards the huge sofa and grinning at all of the wrapped presents under the tree. Natasha quietly slipped onto the couch next to him, her Black Widow sweater somehow managing to look cute despite the horrid patterns.

“And if I didn’t make you arrows?” Tony sniped, walking over with his mug and one for Natasha. 

“You’re right, you wouldn’t be able to top the ones from last year. The boomerang arrows are incredible,” Clint said sagely as Steve appeared with a mug for him. 

“Oh just you wait, Hawkguy!!” Tony said stomping over to the tree to dig around.

“Tony! For the love of everything, just wait. Sam and Thor will be here soon,” Steve said rolling his eyes. 

Clint just snickered into his mug as they continued to bicker and then his phone went off with a text. He quickly dug it out of his pants and opened the message from Bucky.

_Merry Christmas, Clint. Can you get away in a couple of hours and meet me at the Rockefeller tree?_

Clint looked up from his phone and found Natasha looking at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“What?” he asked, flipping the phone screen down even though he knew she already saw it.

“The secret admirer has a name?” she asked and Clint groaned.

“Yes and I suppose there’s no way I could go alone?” he asked and she shook her head.

“You can pretend, if that makes you feel better.” 

“Just….stay hidden please? I don’t want to spook him off.”

“Sure,” she shrugged before looking over the back of the couch when Sam and Thor walked in.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS!” Thor boomed, his sweater the ugliest of them all with his own face terribly stitched into the fabric. 

“Merry Christmas, Thor. Get your Eggnog and let’s pass out these gifts!”

A couple of hours later, Clint walked into the plaza of Rockefeller Center and looked down at his phone to see if Bucky gave him any kind of indication of where he would be. He wasn’t anticipating it; he was the Winter Soldier so he knew Bucky had eyes on him the moment he got close. 

He knew where his friends were, they weren’t subtle in their eavesdropping so he was also pretty sure Bucky knew where they were too and he hoped that didn’t scare him away. He glanced down at his phone again and nearly jumped when he felt a presence at his back.

“Couldn’t come alone?” Bucky asked quietly near his ear and Clint sighed.

“No, my best friend is the Black Widow,” he said, making a face and Bucky actually smiled a little. 

“That’s okay, this shouldn’t take too long, come on,” Bucky said, stepping back and pointing his head towards the massive tree. Clint put his phone away and followed right behind him, looking around at the decorated plaza and the people milling around with hot drinks in their hands. He saw the usual street performers, just dressed up for the holidays and some people ice skating on the rink set up nearby. 

“I don’t know how you are going to top the bagpipes yesterday, that was peak romance,” Clint teased after a few moments of silence. Bucky turned to him with a grin and it made his heart skip a beat. 

“I don’t think I can either, but I’m going to try,” he said as they walked closer to the massive tree. Clint spotted the drumline as Bucky led them to a small group of people gathering around them. They were wearing santa hats and hitching the drums onto their shoulders while getting into formation. 

“Did you get them here or was this already something that was happening today?” Clint asked, standing close enough for their shoulders to brush. 

“This was already scheduled, it saved me a bit of money. Trying to woo Hawkeye was getting expensive,” Bucky teased and Clint just chuckled. “After the show, I have to tell you something okay?”

Clint looked over at Bucky, who all of the sudden looked nervous.

“That sounds ominous.”

“Just enjoy my gift.”

Clint nodded and turned back towards the drumline who started their show. He grinned as they started marching around, throwing their sticks behind their backs and to each other seamlessly throughout the songs. The Carnie in him was very impressed with the theatrics and he was really enjoying himself.

Then he felt Bucky slowly slip his metal hand into Clint’s flesh one and he grinned like an idiot, squeezing it on instinct and wondering how much of that Bucky felt.

They stood there through the whole show, Clint unfortunately letting go of Bucky’s hand to join in the enthusiastic applause for the drumline as they took off their drums and started chatting with some of the crowd.

Clint grabbed Bucky’s hand again and pulled him to a more secluded area and gave him a look.

“That was great, I was very impressed with the theatrics.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Bucky said softly. “That’s all twelve days, what did you think? Do I still got it?” 

“Got it as in, wooing potential partners?” Clint asked, scrunching his face in thought. “There were far too many birds, but I do admire the dedication to finish it despite me figuring it out. Day seven and on was definitely the best half.”

“Well, it was the first mission I gave myself, it was something I had to finish,” Bucky admitted, still looking anywhere but Clint’s face.

“What did you have to tell me?” Clint asked, grabbing Bucky’s hand and waiting quietly until Bucky looked up at made eye contact, his gray eyes full of hope.

“Can I ask you for one selfish thing first? Before I tell you?” he asked and Clint nodded without thinking. Bucky had that effect on him apparently. “Can I-can I kiss you?” 

Clint wasn’t one to kick a gift horse in the mouth so he simply nodded again and let Bucky lean closer, before he couldn’t take it anymore and closed the gap.

There weren't fireworks or love revelations, it was rather soft and sweet. Their first kiss was tentative, expected for the odd way they had connected. Clint was shocked at how smooth Bucky’s lips were against his own chapped ones. He grabbed Bucky’s waist, pulling him closer, the background noise of Rockefeller Center fading into the background as the kiss grew more confident and Bucky moved his head _just right_ to make it that much sweeter. It felt good, tasted like a promise but eventually they needed to get some air.

When they finally pulled apart, they were both grinning and Bucky rested his forehead against his jaw and how did Clint not notice how he could perfectly tuck Bucky under his chin?

“Thank you,” Bucky said and Clint hugged him close, resting his chin on top of his head. 

“Thank _you_. I wouldn’t be mad with more of that,” he teased and Bucky laughed against his chest. “Okay now out with it, I mean you’re the Winter Soldier, what else could there possibly be?”

Bucky pulled back and looked at him, biting his lip nervously. 

“Well I didn’t give you my full name, it’s kind of important that you really know who I am before _this_ ,” he said moving his finger between the two of them, “goes any further.” 

“Okay, that’s fair. Who are you?” 

Before Bucky could answer, they were interrupted by Steve.

“ _Bucky!?”_

Bucky just rolled his eyes and groaned, while Clint looked between the two of them. Steve looked near tears and Bucky looked like he wanted to put Steve in a chokehold. 

“Oh shit! Bucky _BARNES?_ Steve’s Bucky!?”

“Yeah, Bucky Barnes,” Bucky said holding out his hands and taking a step back.

“Bucky, what the hell?” Steve said standing frozen and staring at Bucky like he was a ghost. 

“Yeah it’s me Stevie,” Bucky sighed and to Clint’s surprise Tony started laughing.

“Oh holy shit, I know this is so inappropriate but Steve’s _best friend_ is still alive and instead of going to find Steve he had to spend the last twelve days trying to get into Hawkeye’s pants by using the oldest Christmas Carol in the books? Jesus Christ how is this our lives,” Tony managed to get out in between peals of laughter. 

“I try not to ask questions I won’t get the answers to,” Clint shrugged and reached forward for Bucky’s hand. “Come on, Buck. Let’s head back to the tower, there are some big manly tears in your future.” 

Right on cue, Steve sniffled and wiped at his face.

Bucky let out another sigh and quickly planted a kiss on Clint’s cheek.

“Worth it, Merry Christmas Clint.” 

Clint grinned and wrapped an arm around Bucky’s shoulders to lead the way back to the tower.

“Merry Christmas, Bucky.”


End file.
